Nightmares
by Usagi-Sherlock112
Summary: When Nai has a nightmare and Gareki isn't there, Nai sees if Yogi can help him. Gareki also seems to be having trouble sleeping but he is on his own.
1. Is there something bothering you?

"-gi . . .Yogi" He could hear a little voice calling out his name. Was it in dream or was it real? He could feel himself being tapped on the head. Was that real too? He suddenly realized it was. He sat up straight to see Nai staring straight back at him with a scared look on his face and tears in his eyes.

"Nai? What's the matter? It's 3 in the morning." Yogi stared at the boy with curiosity.

"Um, well, I sorta kinda had a. . ." The boy stopped in the middle of his sentence looking like he was about to burst out crying. "Actually, it doesn't matter. I'm going to go back to my room." Nai started to walk out into the dark hallway.

"Hey Nai! Wait a sec. Is there something bothering you? Remember I told you that if there was anything that bothered you that you could come and tell me right? Sit down and tell me." The blonde hair boy smiled at the white haired child with warmth that seemed to be transferred to the younger one.

"I had a bad dream and since Gareki has gone to school, I was alone in the room and I felt scared so . . ."

"So you came in to my room?" Yogi finished his sentence for him.

Nai nodded his head looking like he was embarrassed. Nai had been on this ship for a while but he had never come into Yogi's room in the middle of the night. He must be really missing Gareki.

"Ok, so tell me what the dream was about" Yogi smiled.

Once again, the tears seemed to well up in Nai's eyes. Yogi realized that wasn't the road that he should be going down.

"You know what? Never mind! I want you to do something for me." Yogi clasped his hands together and looked at the boy.

Nai looked at Yogi and sniffled. "What is it?"

Yogi patted the bed beside him, ushering him to lie on the bed beside him. Nai hopped up on the bed and lay down beside Yogi.

"Ok, what I want you to do is tell me a story." Nai looked at the older boy with curiosity.

Yogi chuckled. "Come on think of a story. Maybe something cool you used to do with Karoku? I want you to close your eyes too."

Nai looked frightened again, like he didn't want to go to sleep because if he did, the dream might repeat itself and haunt him. Yogi held out his hand asking for Nai's. Nai clasped the older boy's hand and closed his eyes. Yogi smirked.

"Ok, go ahead." Yogi urged.

"Um, well when I was living with Karoku in the forest, we used to go for walks." Nai's breathing had become smoother and the tears weren't visible anymore.

"We used to look at all the flowers and animals there. It was al . . . . always really b-beautiful. . In . . . . the. . .spring. . ."

That was it. Nai's story ended there. His breathing was shallow and he was in a deep sleep. Yogi grinned and was turning over to go back to sleep but his hand wasn't being released from the sleeping boys grasp. Yogi put his head down on the pillow and took a few seconds to smile at the boy who reminded him of his own younger sibling who he left behind when he joined Circus. He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

"Yogi! Wake up QUICK!" Tsukumo ran into his room and stood beside his bed. Yogi, still half asleep, opened one eye and gave a look as if to say "what?"

"I can't find Nai anywhere! He's not in his bedroom or anywhere on the ship!" she cried.

A wave of fear came over the young man but before he could move, the fear washed away. He chuckled and closed his eye again.

"W-what's so funny?!" Tsukumo yelled.

"Shhhh, you're gonna wake him up." Yogi gestured to the blankets which he then lifted up to show Nai curled up in a ball still clutching Yogi's hand. Tsukumo looked relieved and then laughed. She then backed out of the room and quietly shut the door to allow the two boys to fall back asleep.


	2. Nai's Nightmare

This forest bore a striking resemblance to Niji forest, yet it wasn't exactly the same. The feeling was off. It didn't feel like home. Nai walked along the path that looked like it had been laid out especially for him. Trees surrounded him to the point where it was almost claustrophobic. He didn't want to be here but he didn't know how to leave. Why was he here in the first place? Where was everybody else? Why was he alone again?

"Nai. What are you doing?"

Nai spun around to see Gareki looking at him. Gareki. Why was he here? Shouldn't he be at school? That didn't matter to Nai. Gareki was here. He ran towards him, smiling. He hugged Gareki tightly, he hadn't seen him in what he felt to be a long time.

"Gareki, why are you here? Why aren't you in school?" Nai inquired. No reply. Nai looked up to see that Gareki was no longer standing in front of him. Nobody was.

"Gareki? Gareki where are you?!" He was alone again. Nai looked for Gareki for a while and began to wonder if Gareki had really been there at all or if he had imagined him because he wanted to see him so badly.

Nai then felt a presence but he did not like the feeling it gave off. He looked around to see Yogi. He was different. His hair colour was silver. His smile wasn't a happy one but one filled with pain and excitement at the same time. Nai didn't like this Yogi, he wanted to get away. At that moment, Yogi laughed manically and sprinted towards Nai with sword in hand. Nai covered his eyes and awaited a hit but when he opened his eyes, he was once again alone.

Nai ran from the scene where he was. What was going on? He wanted to go back to the circus ship; he didn't want to be here. He could feel tear pricking his eyes as he ran. He wanted his friends back.

"_Nai. . ." _He could hear his voice being whispered in his ear. Nobody was around. _"Nai. . ." _

He knew the voice. Karoku. That's who it was. "Karoku? Where are you?" Nai frantically looked around. He saw a figure in the distance and he recognized it. It was Karoku and the Karoku he always knew. Not the one on the Circus ship that didn't know who Nai was, but the one that he used to live with long ago. He sprinted towards him. However, he started to slow down when he saw the devastation that surrounded him.

Gareki. Yogi. Tsukumo. Eva. Jiki. Kichi. Hirato. Tsukitachi. Akari. Their lifeless bodies surrounded Karoku. What was this? Blood was spattered everywhere and a lot of it seemed to be present on Karoku's clothes and face which was also painted with a smile. It was a warm smile too. No. This wasn't right. His friends were. . .No. This shouldn't be happening. Why would Karoku hurt his friends? He wouldn't.

Karoku offered out his hand and grinned at Nai, beckoning him to come closer. Nai backed away as Karoku drew closer. Nai's gaze diverted from Karoku to his friends and back to Karoku again. No. This isn't real. No. This can't be happening. NO!

"NAI!" Nai's eyes shot open. His breathing was heavy. Tears invaded his eyes. Yogi was leaning over him looking more than worried. Yogi. Yogi was alright. Yogi was here, with him. Nai leaned up and hugged Yogi tightly as the tears he had been keeping in escaped and soiled his face.

"Did you have that dream again?" Yogi asked as he hugged the young boy back. Nai nodded his head and was so thankful to realize it was a dream.

"Nai, I think you need to tell me what you are dreaming about. Maybe talking about it will make it easier to deal with." Yogi smiled at the white haired boy.

Maybe that was true. Nai completely trusted Yogi. He was his best friend along with Gareki and Tsukumo. Yogi was Nyanperona! He could make anything better. Nai nodded and began to recall the nightmare that haunted his sleep.

xOx

Yogi was right. Nai felt like a weight had been lifted, like he shouldn't be afraid anymore. Yogi had listened to the entire story patiently and concentrated on what had happened.

"I see. That does seem quite scary, huh? But you don't have anything to worry about Nai." Yogi smiled at Nai with reassurance in his voice. Nai looked at the young man and believed every word that he said. Nai giggled.

"You know what I think we should do? I think we should send Gareki a message, asking him how school is going for him. Then you can see that he is perfectly fine. We can go and visit everyone on the ship as well. How does that sound?" Yogi pondered.

Nai nodded in agreement and jumped up. He grabbed his phone that Hirato had given to him and began to text Gareki. Yogi smiled at the pleasure the young boy took in texting his friend.

_Hi Gareki. How are you doing in school? Just wanted to let you know that everything is fine here. I am working hard and Karoku is allowing me in to his room every so often. I feel like I'm getting closer to him. Hope to hear back from you soon. Nai._

He felt better after sending the text to Gareki. He looked over at Yogi who was still using his phone to communicate with Gareki. After Yogi had finished, he stood up and smiled at Nai. He offered out his hand to Nai, like Karoku had done in his nightmare. This time, however, he was not scared to accept the hand. This was a Yogi he knew, not the one in his dream. He grasped Yogi's hand with a grin as they walked into the hallway to visit the other occupants of the Circus ship.


	3. Haunting Gareki

Attending Kuronomei was no picnic; not that Gareki thought it would be. A full day of academics and training had left him exhausted. Tsubame and Ranji had invited him to eat dinner with them but he refused; mostly cause he didn't have and appetite but more so because the faster he could get to bed the better. He strolled to his room before opening the door and entering. Shishi wasn't back yet much to Gareki's joy. He couldn't handle that amount of happiness right now; he needed to sleep. He turned off the lights, lifted the sheets and crept in under them before lowering himself onto the pillow. His eyes were dreadfully heavy and all his muscles were aching. It couldn't have been more than two or three minutes before he drifted away.

Gareki opened his eyes. He stared at the night sky which was dotted with stars. Why was he looking at the sky? Why was he outside? He was at Kuronomei but now. . .

Something rustled beside him. Gareki shot up and reached for his weapons but soon came to the realisation that he did not have any guns on him. The rustling ceased. He looked around to see if there was anything he could use to make a dent if anything were to try and attack him. Gareki froze. He knew this place; he had been here plenty of times before. How could he have not realised this sooner. The trees he used to climb to escape Tsubaki when she was trying to scold him, the river he used to sit by and fiddle with gadgets, the fields he used to lie in during the evenings watching the sun go down. He was home. Wait, that was stupid. Why was Gareki thinking of this as his home? He has never had a home and he never would but he thought that this was probably the closest he had ever come and probably ever will. Karasuna hadn't changed from what Gareki had remembered. Still dilapidated and unsightly, especially during the night when it seemed like a ghost town of sorts. There wasn't a soul around.

There was no point in staying in one place so Gareki decided to move seeing as how he was unable to find a makeshift weapon in his surroundings. He walked for what seemed like forever but Gareki soon realised that no matter how far he walked, he wasn't getting anywhere. It seemed like a never ending road. This was ridiculous. What the hell was he supposed to do? Stay still and get nowhere or keep walking and get nowhere? Both options were as appealing as the other.

The rustling that he had heard before started again. Gareki flinched and tried to pinpoint the exact source. He edged towards where he heard the noise coming from. He found a house with the door wide open. He peaked his head inside but saw nothing so he entered the house. Before long he realised that it was the house he grew up in with Tsubaki, the twins and the old man but it didn't have the warm, homely feel that it did when Tsubaki had just finished cooking dinner and there was chatter all around the table about what had taken place that day. Instead it was bleak, dark and unwelcoming. Gareki walked across the room where he found a frame that contained a photo of the inhabitants of the house. Tsubaki was at the centre with a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts. The old man was sitting at the side clutching his walking stick and smiling heartily like his eldest granddaughter. The twins were both grinning ecstatically and each had hold of one of Gareki's arms. Gareki of course had a face that would equal that of a spoilt child who had been scolded. He smirked.

The floorboard creaked and Gareki spun around so rapidly that the frame slipped from his grasp and shattered. Tsubame stood in the doorway of the house. Something was not right. She was not the Tsubame he knew; the one that was smiling happily within the frame. She had a look of despair with a manic grin. Gareki was trapped in the house, the only way out being blocked by her. . .

". . . fault. . ."

What? What had she said? Gareki tried to stay as still as possible but wanted to edge closer to hear what she had to say.

"It's your fault." Tsubame whispered.

His fault? What was his fault?

Tsubame giggled like she was in pain. "Tsubaki onee-san is dead because of you. You said that you would protect her but you were just a useless kid who didn't help anybody. You couldn't do anything to stop that man from killing her. Stupid useless Gareki."

Gareki felt his heart twinge. What was this? Why was she saying something like this? This wasn't Tsubame.

"Yotaka. He also died because of you. You couldn't save him either. You couldn't stop that man from circus from killing him nor could you stop him from turning into a varuga. What are you good for Gareki? Huh? You seem to make more of a mess than you can fix."

Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Gareki placed his trembling hands over his ears. Enough already. Enough.

"Grandpa will probably end up dying soon too no matter how much money you make to try and help him. And me. You left me all alone. You ran away when Yotaka and I needed you the most. What kind of cowardly human are you? You should have been the one to die. Why did our family have to be torn apart? It's all your fault. It's all your fault."

Tsubame edged closer to Gareki while chanting the same phrase over and over. "Your fault. Your fault. Your fault." No stop. Please enough. Your fault. "Your fault. Your FAULT. YOUR FAULT!"

Gareki sprang up in the bed with sweat dripping down his forehead stinging his eyes. At least that's what Gareki told himself; it was the sweat, not the tears. Gareki reached over to the bedside table to turn on the light but it was dawn already. What the hell was that? He hadn't had a dream involving his past since the incident with Yotaka. His breathing was rapid and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He inhaled deeply to slow them down. He lay back on the pillow and continued breathing meditatively to relax. A tap on his head brought him back to reality. Shishi was standing above him.

"Everything all right roomie?" he smiled.

"Perfect" Gareki stated sarcastically. He rose out of the bed and began to get dressed to head down for breakfast. Since he had not eaten the night before he was famished. He needed to get out of the room too. He needed to get that dream out of his head for a while. He grabbed his uniform, put it on and headed out the door with Shishi strolling along side of him. Shishi was trying to make conversation but Gareki wasn't interested. They entered the dining hall to see Tsubame and Ranji already at a table. Tsubame waved to Gareki and laughed. She was the opposite of the one that had appeared in his dream but he still could not shake the horrible feeling that the dream had instilled in him. Did Tsubame really hate him for what had happened? He sat at the table and placed his head on his arms. Stop thinking about it. Stop.

Gareki's phone began to vibrate. He took it out of his pocket and stared at the screen. Two unread messages. From Nai and Yogi.

He opened Nai's message:

_Hi Gareki. How are you doing in school? Just wanted to let you know that everything is fine here. I am working hard and Karoku is allowing me in to his room every so often. I feel like I'm getting closer to him. Hope to hear back from you soon. Nai._

He proceeded to open Yogi's message straight after:

_Hi Gareki-kun! Um I will try to keep this message short as I know you hate long ones. Nai-chan has been having nightmares lately; I think it's because he misses you a lot. I'm looking after him though so don't worry! I hope you are doing well in school. I have no doubt that you are though. I hope to hear back from you soon. Hurry up and graduate at the top of the class so you can come back to the ship! Bye-bye! Yogi. J_

Gareki grinned at the two messages. Both idiots. It did make him feel better however. That was weird. He replied to Nai's message stating that he was doing well and that the news about Karoku was great. He told Nai to keep on working hard and that he would talk to him soon. He also replied to Yogi. He told him that his texts were still too long and that it was annoying but he thanked him for giving him an update on Nai. He also stated that school was fine and that he would undoubtedly graduate at the top of his class. Gareki sent the two texts before placing the phone back inside of his uniform pocket. Nai was having nightmares too, huh? Hopefully they weren't as bad as his. The text messages had alleviated some of his horrid feelings though. It's amazing what a few words of encouragement can do. Gareki turned to the others at the table to join in on their conversation.

* * *

A/N Aplogies for the long wait for this chapter. Exams are the devil's work! But here it is and I hope you guys like it! Please review to let me know if I should continue on with this story. I am surprised how many people are actually reading my stuff - didn't think anyone would! Thank you! :)


	4. The Quotes

Years ago. . . .

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Yogi had come across this quote when he was doing some studying years before; before actually taking part in any battles being affiliated with Circus. When he read it, he did not quite understand. If someone fights monsters, doesn't that make them a hero, not a monster? The young Yogi remembered the quote and decided to question Hirato on the meaning, though he did not want to do so. He never liked to bother Hirato on such menial things but this quote was bothering him. As he knocked on the door and entered Hirato's office, he was still trying to figure out the saying without anyone's help but seemed to be failing miserably.

"Yogi" They raven haired man behind the desk sat up and gave the boy a sincere smile. "What can I help you with?"

"Um I-I was wondering if I could ask you a question? I-If that isn't too much trouble. . ." The golden haired boy trailed off.

Hirato looked at Yogi and smirked. "I don't see why not. What is your question?"

"Well I was reading a book and I came across this quote." Yogi placed the book carefully on Hirato's desk and pointed to the quote that he had discovered earlier. He looked at Hirato in anticipation. Of course Hirato would know the meaning. In Yogi's eyes, he was incredibly intelligent.

"You were reading Nietzsche? That's quite an advanced author for your age, Yogi. I'm impressed." Hirato smiled at the teen who blushed slightly. "And of course, I do realise what this means. I've read it before myself." Hirato stated. Yogi beamed, he would finally get his answer.

"However" Hirato started "I think that it would be best if you figured this out for yourself."

Yogi's face fell from a beaming one full of hope to one of utter disappointment and confusion. "B-but why?! Why can't you just tell me what it means now? It's really stumping me!"

Hirato stood up and walked over to the young man. "I do believe that if you are intelligent enough to read Nietzsche" Hirato placed a strong hand on Yogi's shoulder. "then you will be intelligent enough to figure this famous quote out. Now if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to get through and you have studying to do." Hirato removed his hand and walked back to his desk.

Yogi sighed and began to leave the room.

"Oh Yogi." Hirato called. Yogi spun around thinking that Hirato may have changed his mind in his explanation. This was uncalled for however.

"With that quote in mind, I want you to figure out another one for me." Hirato smirked. Another one? Yogi hadn't even figured out this one yet and he now had to figure out another one?

"Come over here." Hirato beckoned. Yogi walked over to Hirato and the man whispered into the young boys ear the quote which he wished for him to figure out.

"Huh?" Yogi looked confused as he tried to decipher what had just been told to him. Hirato stared at the boy and had a completely serious expression on his face. Yogi pondered on this too yet the meaning eluded him. Maybe he just needed time to reflect on these quotes. Maybe he needed experience. Maybe one day he would figure out the meaning of these sayings.

* * *

Nai gripped Yogi's hand tightly as they walked down the hallway to visit the other inhabitants of the Second Circus ship. Nai's nightmares had caused him to become quite nervous and the fact that Gareki was away from the ship didn't help. Yogi had always been good with children; that was why he had been chosen as Nyanperona! Yogi tried to calm down Nai himself but Nai didn't respond. Yogi had then decided that they would send a tect to Gareki to see how he was doing and then visit the people on the ship to show that they were all ok contrary to what Nai had seen in his dream.

"Yogi, do you think that I can be strong?"

The little voice broke Yogi's thought and Yogi halted. "Huh?"

The albino child looked at Yogi. "Well, you are really strong, Gareki is really smart and Tsukumo is really fast. I was wondering if I could ever be like you. I want to be really strong like you!" The young boy beamed.

"Haha Nai-chan thinks I'm strong?" The cheerful man chuckled.

"Mm-hm. I think that Yogi is strong! There are no monsters that Yogi cannot beat!" Nai pumped his fist in the air and laughed.

Yogi stared at the young boy and smiled. "I dunno about that Nai-chan but thank you for the faith in me" Yogi leapt at the boy and began to tickle him which made Nai cry out in loud giggles. Nai managed to escape Yogi's delicate fingers and began to run down the hallway towards Tsukumo's room. Yogi began to run after him but pretended to be slower than Nai to give him a bit of a head start in their game of chase.

Nai-chan thought that he was strong, huh? Not as strong as Nai thought he was. "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster." Yogi knew exactly what that quote meant now, after reading it all of those years ago. After fighting so many Varuga in his time with Circus, he saw the monsters that were present in the world. He had fought them on numerous occasions. He knew that in fighting those monsters, it would not be all that hard to lose your humanity; to succumb to the hopeless feeling that seeing these monsters could conjure up. Humanity was the thing that divided people like Yogi and the monsters like the Varuga. It scared him to think about stuff like that.

"Yogi, you are never gonna catch me at this rate!" The young white haired boy giggled as he was getting further and further away from Yogi. Yogi grinned and sped up almost catching up to Nai before he reached Tsukumo's room. Yogi thought back to the second quote that Hirato had told him to figure out on that same day. Hirato had beckoned him over and whispered into his ear:

"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."

Yogi had figured out the meaning to the first quote after his first few battles within Circus. He had figured out the second some time later. Monsters were real within the world he lived in but he realised with a terrible fear that they were inside of people as well. He knew all too well about having a monster inside of yourself waiting to break free. He knew all too well. He shook the thought from his head and began to run towards Tsukumo's room where Nai had run from Yogi in their game of chase.

* * *

A/N: Again really sorry for the wait for this chapter but it wasn't as long as the wait for the last one! Work got in the way! So here you guys go. For the next chapter, I really wanna wait until some new chapters of Karneval come out (since its been about 2 and a half months since the last one) so there probably wont be a new chapter out until then (unless I get some inspiration) but this story isn't over! So please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)


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